Steps to Moving In
by qu33nofthecastle
Summary: Slowly, step by step, Kate Beckett moved into Rick Castle's loft.


**Steps to Moving In:**

1.

The first place she will inhabit is the closet. At first, this room becomes home to only a few shirts, maybe a pair of pants, probably some misplaced underwear too.

Rick noticed that these misplaced items of clothing slowly but surely found their way into his own dressing room, on a seldom-used shelf by the door. Then there was a dress that Kate had worn to a fancy date that has been discarded soon after that was too valuable to simply fold and put on a shelf so it had been put on a hanger and hung next to his suits. And then, a sweatshirt of his that she loved wearing on cold days took its place next to her own clothes. These items of clothing started to accumulate and soon, and without either of them ever really noticing it, she had a shelf.

2.

Next, she invades the bedroom. She will get a side of the bed and the appropriate nightstand quickly becomes hers.

It started with a few books that had been left there on quiet nights when the two would just get in bed after a long day. On nights like these, Rick would have the left side and his laptop, claiming to be "writing" and Kate would have the right and usually a book that she would read until she fell asleep, because she was always the first to go. When he started hearing her soft snores, he would look over to see her looking more peaceful than ever. At this point, he would put his computer at his feet before getting up, taking her book, putting in a piece of paper in guise of a bookmark and putting the book on the nightstand. This was never the significant detail. That would be the soft kiss he would place on her temple before turning off the light and getting into bed himself.

3.

Soon after, she takes over the bathroom… little trinkets that she leaves there for utility purposes.

First, he gave her a towel that always stayed next to his on a hook behind the bathroom door. Then, he bought her a pink toothbrush, a fact that he mocked her with for weeks. He put it next to his blue one and the pair soon became standard. She had bought a bottle of cherry shampoo and put it next to his claiming that this "man shampoo" was killing her hair. He had not been able argue with this because he could not even begin to imagine how he would survive if he didn't have her luscious hair to bury his hands in. So he let her put her shampoo in his shower.

4.

Progressively, she comes to feel as comfortable in his kitchen as in hers, maybe even more so.

Very early on, she learnt her way around the kitchen. She learnt that to make the best coffee, she had to leave the machine on ten minutes before putting coffee in the filter with a dash of vanilla extract. She learnt that the coffee is found in the cupboard just to the right of the sink and that the extract was in the drawer underneath the coffee pot. She learnt that to get any yogurt, you had to get it right after it was bought otherwise you were left with the gross strawberry one that came in the multipack and that no one could stand. She learnt where the cake molds were and where she could find the stock of flour was. Not only did she use the kitchen like she belonged but she also incorporated parts of herself there. She added grapefruit juice and chocolate covered pretzels to the grocery list so that she could have the former for breakfast and the latter after a particularly long and hard day. She tried to put a certain order to the fridge – something that she should have known would not work. She belonged.

5.

This will take longer but soon, she will have overtaken the office with her pens and files and notes.

He didn't know at first that she had been using his office but sometimes, he would find himself sitting a bit higher at his desk when he was desperately trying to meet a deadline for a new chapter. He found himself having to readjust his chair more often than not. Then, he realized that the black pen that he always used to annotate drafts of his writings was in the wrong penholder. Then, there's the occasional case file that she forgot by her laptop – which has also taken residence here – when she's in a rush on her way to work. And you remember those books that she often left on her bedside table? They had now taken camp on a shelf next to his books, looking like they belonged. Soon, she has her own chair on the other side of the desk from his and they learn to work in a quiet rhythm. He finds that, when she's there, the words flow out of him and suddenly, he loves it again, like he did when he first started. And just like that, she gets a drawer and her computer charger is plugged in next to his, as you do.

6.

The last place she will invade is the living room. When this happens, you can rest assured, there's no turning back.

One day, she walked into the loft and removed her shoes absentmindedly before heading straight for the couch where she collapsed, exhausted after a long day of work. She closed her eyes for a moment that could very well have been hours before opening them again and looking around at the place she had come to call her unofficial home. She noted the throw pillows she had put on the couch and the seats around the room from her own apartment to add a touch of color to the mostly dark room. She saw the blanket she had used and then thrown on the back of a seat a couple of weeks back when she had decided that she was done freezing her toes whilst watching TV. And then she saw the picture. It was a picture of herself and of Castle when they gone to the park about a month ago. Alexis and Martha had come with them, enjoying one of the only warmish days of November to get a bit of fresh air. In the picture, they were walking hand in hand but looking at each other, her laughing at something he had said and him smiling down at her with admiration flooding his eyes. The love in the picture was not what startled Kate. What shocked her was the fact that she had become such a significant part of the family that a picture of her had now taken residence in the family room. That she existed not only in Rick's heart but also in Alexis' and in Martha's. She had been let in entirely and for once, she was entirely comfortable with that.


End file.
